Design Destination: Home

An Easter Meditation

by Peggy DePersia, guest blogger

In ‘isolation’, what nurtures us, what sustains us, where do we find meaning?

As I ‘shelter in place’ in my home, I find myself pondering these questions.

It never occurred to me that, at this point in my life, I might be in “lockdown” as a global necessity or humanitarian courtesy.

I find myself ‘moving inside’ both literally and figuratively i design my days and structure my hours.

From that first sip of morning coffee to, perhaps, an afternoon cup of tea, I design the spaces in between in a slower, virtually indolent way, to pull as much meaning as possible from this unanticipated way of being and to contemplate the upside of it with a renewed measure of gratitude for life, including the simple pleasures of routine life as experienced in this unprecedented time.

Our homes seem like the most authentic representation of the connections we make and the values we cherish and, for a sentimental person like myself, home houses precious memories.

That said, I find myself doing a little time travel or mind travel via memories associated with art and objects collected over time.

While I “stay home”, I delight in revisiting family, friends and places through paintings, sculptures, books, music, movies, photos, letters, face time calls, meals and the ‘stage’ of my mind where so many characters reside.

The sights, sounds and smells of past experience are a respite and a refuge; a reminder of long held dreams threaded through far away places.

For this reason, Design Destinations feels like the perfect place for such a reflection; perhaps meditation is a more appropriate word to describe such travel.

In this liturgical season of hope, I find a different context for the words of the Leonard Cohen song: ‘Show Me The Place’.

The layers of possible meaning embedded in the lyrics of this song, lyrics such as ‘Help Me Roll Away The Stone’ and ‘I Saved What I Could Save’, provide new context for personal connections.

The “guidelines” by which we have been living have afforded many the opportunity for recall and remembrance that help nurture our resilience in the face of a unique hardship.

Peggy is a retired art instructor who loves to explore the connections between art and life, particularly with her camera toting sidekick, her husband.

She is pictured here on the right with  Kate Dernocoeur and Linda Laughter,  Guest Bloggers at our annual lunch time gathering.  Missing in the photo is Judy Bereza. I am so grateful for their contributions to DesignDestinations and enduring friendships.